


Fantastical Home

by GamerWires627



Category: OFF (Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst and Feels, Human AU, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Implied/Referenced Torture, M/M, Slow Burn, Trans Character, alain zach and pablo are sassy childs, wow these tags are so happy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-19
Updated: 2019-02-19
Packaged: 2019-10-30 00:43:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,650
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17818574
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GamerWires627/pseuds/GamerWires627
Summary: Awaking one day with a new purpose, the guardian and sole inhabitant of the Town of Yellow Flowers (affectionately nicknamed Zone 0 due to the measly population) meets an odd man carrying a baseball bat who claims to be on a holy mission.And he knows something's up.So he follows after and finds allies, ranging from grumpy rogue Alain, to shy librarian Valerie, and to ditzy dancer Jozlyn.And he realizes along the way that this has already happened; he's just living out the other side of the story.





	Fantastical Home

Welcome.

I’m sure you know why you’re here.

You’re trying to do something. Something you haven’t done yet.

Of course, you may not have witnessed the original actions.

But does it matter?

It doesn’t.

Because there is still a story to be told.

A story

you

might

just

enjoy.

* * *

Arms behind his head, feet kicked up on the armrest of the comfortable old couch, and eyes closed, our Pablo was very tired. Staying up all night reading the new book his brother had just sent him (it had arrived in the evening yesterday) had not been a good idea. 

Yawning out loud, he was certain he'd fall asleep soon. Right about now, in fact.

Now.

Now?

He groaned and shifted in his spot. For a moment he wondered if it was too early in the morning to nap, since if he did, it was normally in the afternoon, not nine forty-two in the morning. Well, it had been nine forty-two when he had laid down. He wasn't certain what time it was now.

The sudden knock on the door made him jump and fall right off the couch with a small  _thud_. Rubbing his face sleepily, he got to his feet and trudged to the front door, opening his eyes and fixing his signature Cheshire grin upon his face. The thought that he was still in pajamas barely crossed his mind as he opened said door.

There was a man standing there, tall, striped shirt, black hat (the brim casting his eyes into shadow), extremely pale skin, and wielding a baseball bat. His face was completely stoic, and he spoke very bluntly: "I'm looking for the man known as The Judge."

He blinked away the drowsiness and responded. "Well, I suppose you have found him.  _I_ am the Judge. May I inquire as to your identity, dear illusory interlocutor?"

The man stiffened. "Illusory?"

"The Town of Yellow Flowers has been abandoned for quite some time now, all except for me. Hence the moniker of 'Zone 0'. And so, I must assume any person I meet around this area is merely a figment of my imagination. Except for, of course, the man who brings and takes letters to and from my dear brother. On second thought, I suppose you may not be a hallucination... so why, might I ask, are you here?"

"I am The Batter. I have a holy mission to purify this land of the spectres. I require your help to reach the next town."

The Judge hummed to himself as he thought for a moment. "Well, if you would be so kind, the old building down the road has been a popular spot for phantoms for a rather long while, if you would take care of that-- the building with the purple paint. Once you're finished, I will direct you to the next town, as you want."

The Batter nodded and turned away, taking off down the dirt road. The Judge- it had been  _so_ long since he'd been called that- shut the door and turned away with a groan, knowing the nap he'd been wanting to take wouldn't be happening any time soon. He dragged himself up the stairs to his bedroom to get dressed and prepare for the day. He had a small idea of something he could do to brighten up this boring existence. 

His bedroom was simple and cozy, but both the bed and the desk had tons of books on them, so he only read and dressed in there. The letter his brother had sent with the book was still on his bed with the book (he _had_ actually managed to finish that book last night). It had been dated two weeks ago- post was slow in Zone 0, since the postman had to make the out-of-the-way journey to the abandoned place, something nobody really liked to do. 

For a moment, he wondered where the strange man with the baseball bat had come from, and why he claimed to have a holy mission.  _Perhaps he's just very religious,_ he thought.

And so he dressed, in a white button-up shirt, tan vest, dark brown pants, and hiking boots. He rolled up his sleeves, left the first two buttons of his button-up undone, and, impulsively, grabbed the long, thin, sheathed sword leaning against the wall. He held it for a moment, then strapped it to his waist. Pablo took his satchel from where it was on his bed and packed it with things he would need- Luck Tickets, a book, and spare clothes- and slipped the strap over his shoulder and let the satchel itself rest at his other side. He remembered an item in his closet, and sure enough, they were there in his closet- his gauntlets- so he put them on. Then he took the hairbrush from the dresser and ran it through his platinum blond hair a few times, snatching a hairtie from the nightstand just as there was another knock on the door. 

"Already?" he murmured to himself, bolting back down the stairs, tying his hair up and off his neck as he went.

 Sure enough, after opening the door, the Batter was standing there, no different except for the black sludge that was common after dispelling a phantom on his clothes and bat. "I took care of those spectres."

"So you did! I'm impressed, that was very quick." Pablo lifted a black traveling cloak off the hook on the wall and snatched up a map from the table near the door before stepping outside. He closed his door and hopped down the porch steps. "Let us be on our way!"

"...'Us'?"

"I have decided to accompany you on your holy mission, at least for the time being. You see, I am only in possession of one map of the land, I have not left Zone 0 for over a year, and I suppose I should pay my dear brother a visit after all this time."

"Oh."

Pablo's house wasn't very far from the edge of the town, so after a short time, they were already on their way to the next town. "Do you, perhaps, know about where we are going? Stadt des Grüns, also known as Zone 1. Then after that would be L'aube du Fuchsia, Zone 2, and Setor Laranja, Zone 3. Of course then there's the City of Roses, but... well, nobody goes to the City of Roses. Zone 4, again, is its unofficial nickname. After that would be the capital city, one of which a name has never quite been decided on. However, officials call it 'La Chambre', yet actual citizens will call it 'El Cuarto Oscuro.' I've been there in the past... it's not a happy place. It's very formal," said Pablo, clasping the cloak as he walked.

The Batter hummed in disinterest.

"I'm sorry, my choices in conversation topic aren't the best after living alone for a year," he apologized. "The last time my brother visited me, he brought me this- my cloak, see, he weaved it himself, isn't he a dear?- and the news that he was becoming Japhet's personal assistant. Of course, that was about three months ago, and he only stayed for two days before heading back to L'aube du Fuchsia. Zone 0 used to be an amazing place, you know. My brother and I grew up there. With my being only four years his elder, we are still close to this day. Oh, I think he's... nineteen? Yes, that sounds right. He's nineteen years old. Say, how old are you?"

The tall man was silent for a moment. "How old do you think I am?"

Pablo squinted at him briefly before launching into yet another lengthy response. "You are very tall, so I believe it's safe to say that you are grown. Not to mention, your voice doesn't quite sound like a teenager's. It seems to me you are about my age, or perhaps Zacharie's...? Yes, you're most likely closer to Zacharie in age than I."

"Who is Zacharie?"

The wind seemed to pick up at the question, as if the man himself had popped into existence at the very asking of the Batter's question.

"Zacharie is a good friend of mine. He occasionally visits me in Zone 0. He's a travelling merchant, though he didn't always use to be... but I'm getting off track. He is twenty-five years old, just recently, in fact. Two years more than yours truly."

"And that makes you twenty-three?"

"That would be correct."

"You're small for a grown man," the Batter noted. He didn't seem to have any malicious intent behind the statement, but it didn't stop Pablo from becoming annoyed with the strange man. 

"Yes, I've been told that," he stated, trying his best to keep the facade of his smile up. "It might be, though, that it only seems that way to you because you happen to be at least two heads taller than me."

The Batter simply shrugged.

They walked in silence then, both being unsure if they should keep speaking. The Judge let his hand rest on the hilt of his rapier, just in case something jumped out at them. He knew it was silly, but he hadn't used a sword in so long, Zacharie's lessons (that he had received four months ago, mind you) being the only recent knowledge of how to wield such a weapon. 

 "As I was saying-"

There was rustling in the bushes, making the shorter one jump while the Batter stayed completely stoic. Three figures jumped out, two men that looked exactly alike with black hair in buns, and another man in what looked like dress pants, a dress shirt, and a tie, yet his outfit was tattered and stained with... Pablo  _hoped_ that wasn't blood.

"Well, well, look what we have here?" came the purr of the business-attired man. "Two travelers from the ghost town? Tell me, are you like us three?" _He means 'thieves',_ Pablo thought, seeing their bags and knives.

"On the contrary," said Pablo, "we are merely travelers. Now, if you would-"

The Batter decided to best course of action was to swing his bat and hit one of the identical men over the head, knocking him down in an instant. He ran to the other man and repeated the process before he could even respond.

"Batter! What in the-"

The man with the tie decided to lunge towards Pablo then, prompting our hero to draw his sword and hold it in front of him, nearly stabbing the thief in the chest. He backed away, drawing a knife, and pounced again. Pablo jerked to the side and held his sword in front of him like a shield as the thief slashed at him. The man smiled, and he had sharp teeth. "You're a fighter, huh? Name's Janus. Friends call me January."

"Good to know."

His knife was caught on Pablo's rapier, just inches from his face. Janus's face immediately fell as he seemed to notice something and about the hand holding the hilt of the sword. "Those... gloves... you're a Guardian?!"

"What an astute observation!" Pablo pulled back and swung his sword, slicing Janus's arm. 

As Janus realized that he'd screwed up, picking on a Guardian and who he most likely thought must be a bodyguard of some sort, the Batter swung his bat down hard on the back of Janus's head, felling the man once and for all.

"Oh, I think you've killed him," said the Judge. "And those other two."

"It doesn't matter. Look," responded the Batter. There was black sludge oozing out of the gash on Janus's arm. "He was a spectre. So were the others."

"Phantom thieves? What an odd thing. Perhaps the land has changed since I've left Zone 0," the shorter man considered.

The Batter slung his bat over his shoulder and resumed walking. "Let's go." His long legs walked very quickly away from the scene, making Pablo have to break into a jog to keep up. 

"Hey, wait, I'm not as fast as you!"

The tall man grunted and slowed his pace so that Pablo wouldn't have to run to keep up. 

The Judge sheathed his sword and walked briskly to stay at the same speed as the Batter. He didn't speak, neither did the other. "Stadt des Grüns is about a four hour's walk from here, you know. Once we arrive, I'm afraid I'll have briefly leave the party, since I have a friend there I wish to visit."

"Hm."

"We will have to rest along the way, walking for four hours isn't going to be feasible."

The Batter responded with a noncommittal, "Okay."

* * *

Pablo seemed to have to rest more than the Batter did, but according to the map, they were very close to reaching their destination four hours after the thief incident.

"Do you remember that man who claimed you were a Guardian?" the Batter suddenly asked. "Are you?"

The Judge's eternal smile turned slightly sad. "The Guardian of nothing, I'm afraid. He could tell because of these," he said, holding up his hand. "My gauntlets. All the Guardians have these in this particular style. I-"

The Batter stopped abruptly and held his bat out in front of the Judge, fixing him with a death glare. "You are a Guardian. The Guardian of Zone 0? The Town of Yellow Flowers?"

"Yes." 

 "...How? You're too young."

Such a statement made Pablo laugh. "I used to get that particular reaction a lot, when the Guardians met more." He motioned for the Batter to put his weapon down and keep walking. "I was made a Guardian at the tender age of three. My town had been selected for the honor of having a Guardian, since the new Queen- Vader Eloha, bless her name- had chosen five at random. The towns of Folytatni, Állj-Meg, and Emelkedik were annoyed, since they were in the running as well, but the various villages sprinkled across the land were not. So the Queen selected a Guardian from each of the main three Zones as we know them today- men, in the age range of late teens to mid-twenties. But then, since the land was still so divided after the civil war, she wanted two more. So my town, the City of Roses, Folytatni, Állj-Meg, and Emelkedik were being considered for a while. Finally, at the end of the year, she chose my town and the City of Roses."

Pablo paused for breath. The Batter did not interject.

"And so a Guardian was chosen from each. Specifically, two fe-  _children._ Myself and a girl by the name of Edna. Mind you, the revolution ended twenty-one years ago- it took the new Queen  _that_ long to figure out how to work out the Guardian business, though the first few months were working out what to do with the king's son... but his mistreatment  _did_ start the rebellion... and I  _do_ know that he's alive and well today... I'm getting sidetracked. Edna was three years older than I was. Years afterward, I learned why the Queen chose two children as Guardians- we were  _innocent_. We didn't help in the war effort like Dedan, Japhet, and Enoch. Of course, the gauntlets didn't fit us back then, but they were kept for us to grow into."

"So there are five Guardians in total?" The Batter asked.

"Well, there are rumors of a sixth secret one... when the prince, Hugo- a mystery child, since there was neither king nor consort,- was born eight years ago, word came from the capital that the Queen had made him the Guardian of the city. It seemed absolutely ludicrous at the time, that she would do that to her newborn son, but due to Edna and I's existence, people were willing to believe anything they could. Hugo only made a few public appearances, due to being prone to illness. Still, various photographs were analyzed, and of course he's never worn the gauntlets- the Queen never wearing them was the tip driving people to believe she was not a Guardian-"

"Is he a Guardian or not?"

The Judge sighed. "Nobody knows for sure, except for himself and the Queen. She once wore gauntlets, to try and dispel the rumors, at the annual ball she hosts, but there are a lot of people who insist that they weren't the same as the other Guardians'. It may be that there is no Guardian for the capital."

"...I see."

They'd barely taken a few steps without talk before the Batter spoke again.

"Tell me more about this land."

"Ah, you must be new here," the Judge said. "Am I right?"

No response.

"Very well. What would you like to learn about?"

"What did you mean when you were talking about the civil war?" he asked, deciding on his question after a moment. 

"The old king was a horrible man. Tensions rose against him for a long time- he had total control, he kept all the food in the capital for himself and other high-ranking officials, free speech was virtually nonexistent... he was, in the most simplest of terms, a dick...tator. Heh."

The Batter didn't laugh, or even crack a smile.

"The only reason the revolution took so long to happen was because of people being afraid of what would happen to the king's son. He was born two years before I was, and he was an absolute darling- the only  _good_ thing in association with that man. The king was well aware of his son's popularity, and people were certain his safety would be threatened if such a revolution happened. But then the public found out that the king was  _already_   threatening his son's safety. There was outrage, and the young future Queen was the one who lead the revolution. Oh, everyone knew she would be the new leader from the beginning- she was smart, kind, generous, strong-willed-- but I digress. That is the story of the civil war, and, as I said, it ended with the Toad King's death. Do you have any other questions?"

The Batter nodded. "If there is no king now, who is the prince's father?"

"Well, that's the mystery with the child himself.  _Nobody knows_. Well, the Queen knows, or perhaps she doesn't, but he was born out of wedlock from a man nobody knows the identity of. Nobody even knew of a man being _close_ to the Queen for the past year before the birth. There are theories that the father is one of the original Guardians- Dedan, Japhet, or Enoch- but knowing what the child looks like, those theories are implausible, since his appearance doesn't resemble any of those three. Say..."

The Judge trailing off prompted a response from the Batter: "What?"

"Your hair... it's the same as his. And I'm certain that someone with your skin tone having a child with someone with the Queen's would bear a similar result to the prince's... is it possible...?"

"We're here," the baseball-bat-slinging man interrupted. "You can spin your stupid theories later. I have spectres to purify."

Pablo looked up, and realized he was right- the sign above him read "You have just entered: STADT DES GRÜNS". The man had already disappeared by the time Pablo had gathered his wits enough to apologize for his hasty words.

_Besides, he seems much too young to be the boy's father... He would only have been seventeen by the time of the boy's birth, if I was correct in placing him at the same age as Zacharie._

And so the young Guardian took a step into the famously-nicknamed Zone 1, glancing around at all the  _green_ that surrounded him. The dirt path turned to solid stone bricks, and all around him was the hustle and bustle of day-to-day life in Stadt des Grüns. A few children were playing some game involving a ball in the center square, not too far from where a peculiar man rested in the shade of a big oak tree.

"Zacharie!" Pablo called, briskly walking to his friend.

Eyes must have opened underneath a toad-shaped mask, since his friend stood up in an instant and opened his arms in greeting. "Do my eyes deceive me? Is it  _really_ the Guardian of Zone 0 himself? The man, the myth, the legend of Pablo's Palace?"

"I've  _told_ you to stop calling my home  _that_."

"Right, right, I apologize,  _amigo._ " Zacharie lowered his arms to rest, tugging on the straps of his backpack. "Is there any specific reason you decided to leave your humble abode and venture the outside world?"

Pablo nodded. "There was a man who just came through- I'm sure you noticed him, he had very odd attire- and I was assisting him to reach this place. I was also planning to meet with my brother in L'aube du Fuchsia tomorrow or the day after."

"I'd reckon you'd want to stay here tonight and leave for L'aube early tomorrow," Zacharie advised. "The hotel in Alma is still open, despite all the people from Állj-Meg visiting at this time of year." 

"Right, of course," said Pablo. "I should rejoin my traveling partner now, who knows what kind of trouble he'd get into without me."

"Before you go, do you have anything you'd like to buy? Perhaps sell?" Zacharie's emerald eyes sparkled beneath his mask in a kind of playful attitude. Really, everything about the way he carried himself, spoke, and dressed gave off the appearance of an easygoing person- brown skin covered mostly by a white sweater with a red heart, black pants, and wild dark hair.

"No, not now.  _Au revoir, mon cher ami!"_ he called as he turned and ran off to find the Batter.

He didn't miss what his merchant friend responded: _"Adios a ti tambien. ¡Oh, y a todos nuestros amigos mirando, hola!"_

Pablo wasn't sure what the last part was supposed to mean.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, if you liked drop a comment!!! Also, I recommend you translate what Zacharie said at the end yourself, since I won't be providing a translation. What Pablo said was basically "Goodbye, my dear friend"


End file.
